Forage materials such as hay crops and corn may be treated upon harvesting in which conditioners are applied to the crops prior to bailing or chopping for storage purposes. The conditioners may commonly be referred to as “inoculants”. These inoculants are used to treat the forage material to increase the storage life of the forage material and to prolong the nutritional value of the material.
Excess moisture content for hay crops stored in bales presents many problems. One problem is that the excess moisture in the material promotes the growth of bacteria and fungus that can unduly contaminate the forage material, and can reduce the effective storage life and nutritional value of the forage material.
Another well-known problem is that excess moisture in baled forage material presents a significant risk of fire. The growth of bacteria within baled hay can produce surprising amounts of heat, resulting in spontaneous combustion of over-heated forage material.
In more recent times, commercial baling machines are capable of processing relatively large bales of hay as compared to earlier times in which bales of hay were of significantly smaller size. For example, there are a number of commercially available bailing machines today that are able to produce both square and round bales that may weigh thousands of pounds. Because of the increased size of these bales, there is an increased chance that a fire may occur simply because there is a significantly increased amount of forage material that is tightly packed as compared to the historically smaller bales. Even if the larger bales are strategically spaced from one another in order to allow adequate ventilation between bales, a fire potential may still exist because of the significantly increased bale sizes. Certainly, if large numbers of bales are not capable of being stored in a facility large enough to allow for adequate spacing between bales, the potential for a fire remains of considerable concern.
It is known to selectively apply the inoculants to forage material where certain moisture parameters are measured, and the amount of inoculants applied is adjusted to account for the measured parameters. Moisture content of the harvested crop is but one measured parameter. One noteworthy shortcoming with respect to many prior art systems is that the moisture content of the harvested crop is not measured until that particular portion of the crop has been baled. Accordingly, any adjustments made as to the type or amount of inoculants applied is conducted retrospectively and not based upon the actual portion of the harvested crop that enters the processing machine.
The moisture content of a field containing crops may widely vary within relatively small areas. For example, slight depressions in the field or other factors may result in one spot of the field to retain a significant amount of moisture as compared to other areas that are close in proximity to the particular spot. Because of the wide variances in moisture content, it becomes very difficult to accurately measure the moisture content of a windrow of forage material entering the intake of a baling machine. As a windrow enters the machine, it is laterally dispersed and must be funneled into a smaller area prior to entering a compaction chamber of the baling machine. Because the forage material is initially dispersed but then quickly funneled, it is difficult to measure moisture content since the material undergoes rapid positional changes. Accordingly, the problems with measuring moisture content at the intake of a baling machine is why many prior art systems measure moisture content when the forage material is highly compressed in a bale. The more stable and compressed condition of forage material within the bale is much easier for measuring moisture content. The inherent difficulty in measuring moisture at the intake of a baling/chopping machine, coupled with the retrospective moisture analysis in the prior art devices, results in an inaccurate application of adjusted amounts of applied inoculants.
One solution to the problem regarding inaccuracies associated with measuring of moisture content after the bale has been formed is addressed in the Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,699. This reference more particularly discloses an automated system and method for measuring moisture in which real time data measurements are taken for relative humidity and moisture content of the forage material in order to timely adjust the amount of an inoculant applied to the forage material thereby more effectively conditioning the forage material. Data gathering capabilities are provided with a system controller to enable an operator to view, adjust, and record various production records, as well as detailed information as to the amounts of inoculant applied. The components associated with the system include an inoculant container having a dispense auger to dispense a controlled amount of inoculant which is then conveyed to the intake opening of the baling machine as the forage material enters the machine. The control system includes various sensors positioned at the intake opening of the baling machine which measures moisture content, and optionally the mass or volume of the incoming forage material. The control system provides a number of user interface options for controlling the dispensing of the inoculant product, as well as capturing data relating to the operation of the baling machine and the use of inoculant products. By measuring moisture content as the forage material enters the machine and then distributing the inoculant directly onto the forage material at that location, this method optimizes the amount of inoculants applied to most effectively condition the forage material.
Another aspect of forage material management is the marking of bales with indications of where high moisture material may be found. By marking the bales in this manner, the bales can be selectively stored in a geometrical configuration that optimizes ventilation of those bales that may have relatively high moisture contents. In this way, the shelf life of the bales may be increased, and fire hazards may be reduced.
One known method of marking bales involves measuring the moisture content of a bale after it has been formed, and then marking the bale with an indication of whether the bale has an out of range moisture condition. The advantage of this method is that both measuring the moisture content of the bale and marking of the bale can be completed at a single station/location in which reliable marking can be achieved at least with respect to marking of individual bales. However, there also a number of drawbacks associated with this method. One disadvantage is that, particularly for larger bales produce from many commercial balers, each bale may have widely varying moisture contents at different locations within the bale. Accordingly, the measurement taken as of the moisture content of the bale greatly depends upon exactly where the moisture is sensed and recorded. For example, in a field in which windrows are small in size, it may take a relatively large area of windrows to produce a single bale of forage material. Accordingly, there can be great variations in moisture content across a single bale and therefore marking of the bale depends on what may be a relatively random moisture sample taken to trigger the marking. Another problem associated with some similar methods is that moisture content measured after the bale has been formed may be used to control the amount of inoculants applied to the forage material as the forage material enters the baling machine. As one can appreciate, the significant distance between the intake area of the baling machine and where moisture is measured after a bale has been formed can result in less than optimal inoculant application since moisture is not measured where the forage material enters the machine.
Therefore, there is a need for precisely and accurately marking bales as to the corresponding moisture content for not only bales observed as a whole, but also for discrete portions of a bale that may have widely varying moisture contents. There is also a need for an integrated moisture content measuring and moisture marking system in which not only is an optimum amount of inoculant applied to forage material, but also precise and accurate moisture measurements are made on the discrete portions of forage material that ultimately become compressed and packed together within a bale. This optimum moisture measurement protocol can therefore enable more precise and accurate marking of bales as to corresponding moisture content within discrete portions of a single bale.
As set forth below in the following description and illustrations of the present invention, each of the aforementioned needs are met with the invention to include others more specifically set forth.